About Math Games in Math Class

Children really enjoy math games. Good math games support their development, especially when children are guided and continuously challenged during math class. Take the race track, for example. This is a simple variation of Ludo.

The Race Track

This is a game for students aged 4 to 6 and is played by two students. They need a board with two rows of thirty circles. They also need a game piece and two dice. Taking turns, they roll the two dice and determine how many spaces they can move forward. Depending on the type of dice, you can expect different strategies. Start the game with two dice with dots. At first, a child can move the number of spaces shown on one die and then the number shown on the second die. In doing so, they count the dots. Addition isn’t really necessary. If you
challenge the students to first figure out how much the two dice are worth together, counting forward becomes obvious. Gradually, you’ll notice that a child starts to recognize the value immediately. You’ll often see the child continue counting from the highest number.
This is a good moment to replace one of the dice with a numbered die. When using two dice with dots, most children start counting. If you replace one die with a numbered die, counting through becomes much more natural. However, counting onward isn’t always easy. If the number die shows 2 and the dot die shows 5, it’s actually easier to count onward starting from 5.
If you notice that children are ready for this, then the time has come to let them play with two number dice. It
is precisely these small adjustments that keep the game constantly challenging. It also clearly demonstrates how important it is to observe the children closely during the game.

Here are some links to various math games for math class.

The Math Web

The RekenWeb from the Freudenthal Institute contains many math games.

Math Games for Preschoolers

Gaby van der Linde and Anneke Noteboom of the SLO have compiled descriptions of 25 math games for preschoolers. This publication is available from the SLO. Here is a download link.

Games you can download

Thinkfun is a US-based game company that has published several educational games, including Thinky the Dragon. Check out Thinky Printout—it’s a template that lets kids create a 3D illusion.